2012 SEASON. Dvořák & Shostakovich. Beauty and Turmoil. Thu 11 October 1.30pm. Thursday Afternoon Symphony

Transcription

1 2012 SEASON Dvořák & Shostakovich Beauty and Turmoil Thu 11 October 1.30pm Thursday Afternoon Symphony

2 The Sebel Pier One Sydney is proud to be the premier accommodation sponsor for the Sydney Symphony Our dedication to your comfort, enjoyment and service is echoed in the international standard of the Sydney Symphony and their incredible passion for excellence. Nestled on the water, at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Sebel Pier One Sydney offers amazing views over Sydney Harbour. We are pleased to offer you 10% off your next stay with us. Our beautiful fully renovated rooms are a stunning mix of historic charm and contemporary chic. So book today and enjoy our Deluxe hotel with million dollar views. Call and book yourself a beautiful Waterside King room. Mention Symphony and you ll receive 10% off our best available rate. Or simply visit and enter the promotional code Symphony. The Sebel Pier One Sydney, The Sydney Symphony and you: let s make beautiful music together.

3 2012 season thursday afternoon symphony Thursday 11 October, 1.30pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Beauty and Turmoil Vladimir Ashkenazy CONDUCTOR Jian Wang CELLO Antonín Dvořák ( ) Cello Concerto in B minor, B.191 (Op.104) Allegro Adagio ma non troppo Allegro moderato INTERVAL Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93 Moderato Allegro Allegretto Andante Allegro Today s performance will be recorded for broadcast at 8pm this evening by ABC Classic FM. Pre-concert talk by Scott Davie at 12.45pm in the Northern Foyer. Visit bit.ly/ssospeakerbios for speaker biographies. Estimated durations: 40 minutes, 20-minute interval, 57 minutes. The concert will conclude at approximately 3.40pm.

4 RIA NOVOSTI / LEBRECHT MUSIC & ART Dmitri Shostakovich at the piano (1958). 6 sydney symphony

5 INTRODUCTION Beauty and Turmoil When Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted Shostakovich s Tenth in his first season as Principal Conductor, he told us what a privilege it was to be at one of the first performances of this symphony, the Moscow premiere. The Tenth Symphony was an incredible success. In my modest opinion I think it s maybe the most complete of his symphonies. It just has everything that he wanted to say. If you could describe Shostakovich s attitude and what he tried to express in his music, it s simply the tragedy of an individual in impossible circumstances. But we knew what he wanted to say because we felt the same that he did, and we somehow deciphered it emotionally and spiritually And he said it so eloquently. We were looking into a mirror of our existence. That s what it was like. It s reality. But reality can be expressed only by a genius, in musical terms. Shostakovich s music frequently reflects the turmoil and uncertainty of life in Soviet Russia his listeners recognised this from first-hand experience, but the music is so powerful that it speaks just as directly to those of us who ve enjoyed relatively comfortable and secure lives in modern Australia. Dvořák s Cello Concerto speaks in the same powerful way and with the same directness of expression, but it tells a very different story. This is music by a composer who was excited to find himself in a new world and at the forefront of a questing musical scene in New York, but who also felt a deep nostalgia homesickness even for his native Bohemia. This is the source of the tremendous longing as well as the tremendous beauty in this concerto. Not everything the orchestra does takes place on the Sydney Opera House concert platform for Sydney Symphony news and profi les of the musicians, turn to Bravo!, a regular feature at the back of the program books, with nine issues a year. If you miss an issue, visit sydneysymphony.com/bravo sydney symphony 7

6 ABOUT THE MUSIC Antonín Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor, B.191 (Op.104) Allegro Adagio ma non troppo Allegro moderato Jian Wang cello Brahms was impressed. If only I d known, he said, that one could write a cello concerto like that, I d have written one long ago! And he wasn t just being polite. Brahms had recognised Dvořák s talents early on, ensuring that the young composer received from the Imperial Government in Vienna the Austrian State Stipendium, an annual grant, for five years, and persuading his own publisher, Simrock of Berlin, to publish Dvořák s music. But Brahms admiration aside, the composition of what Dvořák scholar John Clapham has called simply the greatest of all cello concertos was no easy matter. In fact, it was his second attempt at the medium the first, in A major, was composed in 1865, but appears to have been written out only in a cello and piano score. That Dvořák left the work unorchestrated suggests that he was dissatisfied with this first effort. Despite the urgings of his friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan, Dvořák thought no more about writing such a piece until many years later, though he did orchestrate the four-hand piano piece Klid (Silent woods) and the Rondo B.171 Op.94 (originally for cello and piano) with solo parts for Wihan. In 1894 Dvořák was living in New York, having accepted the invitation of Jeannette Meyer Thurber to head the National Conservatory of Music that she had founded Keynotes DVOŘÁK Born Nelahozeves, Bohemia, 1841 Died Prague, 1904 Dvořák s career is a reminder that greatness can grow from unlikely beginnings. A country inn-keeper s son, Dvořák was destined to be a butcher. But his passion for music was his passport to upward mobility. His Moravian Duets caught the attention of Brahms, who recommended Dvořák to his own publisher. His Slavonic Dances took Europe by storm, and his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies became immensely popular in England. Then, inspired by his time spent teaching in the United States, he composed his two ultimate masterpieces, the New World Symphony and the Cello Concerto. CELLO CONCERTO In New York, Dvořák was expected to guide the creation of an American national style. But it s homesickness for his native land that shapes the character of the Cello Concerto, with its personal references and Bohemian musical traits. To solve the challenge of writing a solo cello part that can compete with a large orchestra, Dvořák employs the full ensemble only when the soloist isn t playing. He d picked up this strategy from the cellist Victor Herbert, who d played one his own concertos in New York in The first performance of Dvořák s most famous symphony, From the New World, at Carnegie Hall in December sydney symphony

7 Dvořák s family, shortly after their arrival in the USA. there in In March 1894, Dvořák attended a performance by Victor Herbert of his Second Cello Concerto. The Irish-born American composer and cellist is now best remembered for shows like Naughty Marietta and Babes in Toyland, but his concerto, modelled on Saint-Saëns first, made a huge impact on Dvořák, who re-examined the idea of such a work for Wihan. The work was sketched between 8 November 1894 and New Year s Day, and Dvořák completed the full score early in February. Much to Dvořák s annoyance, the first performance of the concerto was not given by its dedicatee, Wihan. The London Philharmonic Society, who premiered it at the Queen s Hall in March 1896, mistakenly believed Wihan to be unavailable, and engaged Leo Stern. Despite Dvořák s embarrassment, Stern must have delivered the goods, as Dvořák engaged him for the subsequent New York, Prague and Vienna premieres of the work. Wihan did, however, perform the work often, and insisted on making some improvements to Dvořák s score so that the cello part would be more virtuosic. Wihan also insisted on interpolating a cadenza in the third movement, which the composer vehemently opposed. For some reason Simrock was on the point of publishing the work with Wihan s amendments, and only a stiff letter from Dvořák persuaded the publisher to leave out the cadenza. The Finale closes gradually diminuendo, like a sigh, with reminiscences of the first and second movements the solo dies down to pianissimo, then swells again and the last bars are taken up by the orchestra, the whole work concluding in a stormy mood. That was my idea and I cannot depart from it. Dvořák explaining to his publisher why he rejected Wihan s cadenza sydney symphony 9

8 The Only Gift Anyone can do the expected. It s the unexpected that sets you apart. Delivering Love Since 1967 AUSTRALIA-WIDE Order from any mobile or download our iphone App

9 Brahms, incidentally, had by this time taken on the job of correcting the proofs of Dvořák s music before publication, to save the time of sending them to and from the United States. Despite being an American work, the concerto is much more a reflection of Dvořák s nostalgia for his native Bohemia, and perhaps for the composer s father who died in As scholar Robert Battey has noted, two characteristic Bohemian traits can be found throughout the work, namely pentatonic [ black note ] scales and an aab phrase pattern, where a melody begins with a repeated phrase followed by a two bar answer. The work is full of some of Dvořák s most inspired moments, such as the heroic first theme in the first movement, and the complementary melody for horn, which adds immeasurably to its Romantic ambience. The Bohemian connection became even stronger and more personal when Dvořák, working on the piece in December 1894, heard that his sister-in-law Josefina (with whom he had been in love during their youth) was seriously, perhaps mortally ill. Dvořák was sketching the slow movement at the time. The outer sections of this movement are calm and serene, but Dvořák expresses his distress in an impassioned gesture that ushers in an emotionally unstable central section in G minor, based on his song Kéž duch můj sám (Leave me alone) which was one of Josefina s favourites. Josefina died in the spring of 1895, and Dvořák, by this time back in Bohemia, made significant alterations to the concluding coda of the third movement, adding some 60 bars of music. The movement begins almost ominously with contrasting lyrical writing for the soloist. Dvořák s additions to the movement, and his determination not to diffuse its emotional power with a cadenza, allowed him, as Battey notes, to re-visit not only the first movement s main theme, but also a hidden reference to Josefina s song in the slow movement. Thus, the concerto becomes something of a shrine, or memorial. Why on earth didn t I know one could write a violoncello concerto like this? If I had only known, I would have written one long ago! BRAHMS ON DVOŘÁK S CELLO CONCERTO Dvořák GORDON KERRY SYMPHONY AUSTRALIA 2004 Dvořák s Cello Concerto calls for an orchestra comprising pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons (with the second flute doubling piccolo); three horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and triangle; and strings. The Sydney Symphony first performed Dvořák s Cello Concerto in 1937, with cellist Edmund Kurtz and conductor Georg Schnéevoigt. The most recent performance was with cellist Gautier Capuçon and Richard Gill in sydney symphony 11

10 Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93 Moderato Allegro Allegretto Andante Allegro These days there is always debate about the meaning of a Shostakovich symphony. Ever since Western listeners realised they might have been wrong to take Shostakovich at his word when the Fifth Symphony was described as a Soviet artist s reply to just criticism, we have pondered the real meaning of his works, and tried to find clues in the various writings that have come out since his death: Testimony (purportedly his ghosted memoirs), Ian McDonald s The New Shostakovich, and Elizabeth Wilson s Shostakovich: A Life Remembered (1994, with a revised second edition in 2006), to name three standard texts. Symphony No.10, completed on 27 October 1953 and premiered under the conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky in Leningrad in December of that year, is supposed to be about the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin the composer was finally free to broadcast his views, eight months after the great dictator s death. Testimony even has Shostakovich say: I did depict Stalin [in the Tenth] I wrote it right after Stalin s death, and no one has yet guessed what the symphony is about The second part, the scherzo, is a musical portrait of Stalin [It is hard] to draw the image of leaders and teachers with music. But I gave Stalin his due, the shoe fits, as they say. I can t be reproached for avoiding that ugly phenomenon of our reality. It is easy to imagine such a meaning for the second movement, coming so hard and violently upon the heels of the intensely ruminating first movement. It seems so full of terror; of fears of being taken suddenly by the secret police in the middle of the night. With its brutal stamp, this heavy-booted Georgian gopak dance is a long way from the customary playful scherzo. The first movement seems to possess that mixture of despondency and relief which may be expected when, after 40 years, you no longer have to feel (in Nadezhda Mandelstam s words) that every acquaintance [is] a suspected police informer, but you haven t yet had the time or licence to fully vent your anger. Shostakovich s friend Tatyana Nikolayeva, however, claimed that the Symphony No.10 was begun in Would that alter the meaning? It s possible that Shostakovich substantially revised the symphony in 1953, or finally Keynotes SHOSTAKOVICH Born St Petersburg, 1906 Died Moscow, 1975 One of the great symphonic composers of the 20th century, Shostakovich was also a controversial and enigmatic personality who lived through the Bolshevik Revolution, the Stalinist purges and World War II. His music is often searched for cryptic messages: criticism of the Stalinist regime disguised in music that, it was hoped, would be found acceptable by authorities. But Shostakovich s compromises only went so far and his music was nonetheless subject to censure, usually on stylistic or moral grounds. After Stalin s death in 1953, the harassment of Soviet artists abated and performances were given of works such as the Eighth Symphony that had formerly been suppressed. TENTH SYMPHONY This symphony followed an unusually long gap in Shostakovich s output (the Ninth was completed eight years earlier). The Tenth had been conceived in 1945 but it wasn t until the thaw that followed Stalin s death in 1953 that the symphony was completed. It is most striking for its use of Shostakovich s musical signature, four notes spelling DSCH in a melody that happens to sound as ominous and anguished as his personal situation under Soviet rule must have been. The suggestion is of autobiography in music. The second movement is Shostakovich s brutal portrait of Stalin. 12 sydney symphony

11 completed it then. He certainly didn t release it for public presentation until Stalin was well out of the way. From a technical point of view, the first movement is extraordinarily impressive. Longer than the third and fourth movements put together, it exhibits a masterly control of tension. Ian McDonald, writing in The New Shostakovich, praises the way three themes weave in and out of each other with effortless ingenuity. Though heavy with thoughtful pauses, the mood of the opening, deep in the strings, is very much that of a slow stirring to life. McDonald sees ominous significance, however, in the way the first note of the sextuplet figure is so quickly dropped. The important clarinet theme next emerges. Klaus George Roy, annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra, has pointed out that this clarinet melody may be a quote from the fourth movement of Mahler s Second Symphony from the song Urlicht: Mensch liegt in grösster Noth (Humankind lies in direst need). This would not be surprising. Shostakovich admired Mahler, and quotes from song are not unusual in Shostakovich s works. They often provide clues to the meaning of the music. This symphony also quotes What s in my name? from Shostakovich s own Four Pushkin Romances. In the Mahlerian section of the symphony, Shostakovich even adopts Mahler s original instruction to the performer of Urlicht: einfach [simply], writing it, in Italian, as semplice. The premiere of Shostakovich s Tenth Symphony was a success, but it also provoked intense debate, with official critics decrying its ideological depravity. Fellow composer Aram Khachaturian, however, said it was a work of enormous and impressive power an optimistic tragedy permeated by burning faith in the victory of radiant, life-affirming forces. sydney symphony 13

12 We have been listening for nearly eight minutes when the flute launches what could perhaps be described as a pessimistic waltz: the symphonic movement s second subject. It is the development which unleashes for the first time the movement s underlying terror. Significantly, the Mahler quote material is developed. The scale of emotion is immense: the music is so demanding that in the central tutti, the first and second violins have to play continuously for well over four minutes with scarcely a semiquaver rest. Such an outburst, however, fails to dispel the predominantly bleak mood. The movement ends, after a brief recapitulation of the main themes, with a cold coda of duetting piccolos. The contrasting styles of the first two movements suggest the high probability of an internal program. But what does the third movement Allegretto mean? Here Shostakovich quotes his own musical motto, the intervals D E flat ( Es in German musical spelling) C B natural (H in German): DSCH, for D. Schostakowisch. He also makes telling use of a horn call, a harbinger of warning since the times of Beethoven, Wagner and Mahler. The opening bars, though, present the DSCH motif in altered form CDSH (C D E flat B). He may have asked what was in his name, but could this symbolise the mask Shostakovich had to assume in public? McDonald speaks of the way the second subject tart winds trilling a staccato combination of D-S-C-H and [a] rat-a-tat figure represents the people s theme appropriated by the authorities. Just as the people gain in confidence, the horn sounds, and the real people emerge, depressed, downtrodden. The whole of the second half of this symphony sees, in critic Michael Steinberg s words, the imprinting of [Shostakovich s] own presence, and in the finale the Shostakovich theme seems to assume a warning role. The final movement opens solemnly. Then, with a flourish, the Allegro begins, and we are led to a raucous, apparently high-spirited conclusion. It can be argued that this Allegro is a satisfactory counterweight to the first movement. Steinberg, again, says: I have sometimes imagined that [Shostakovich] would have been happy had circumstances allowed him to be a latter-day Haydn, unburdened by any obligation to devise weighty, significant endings. But can we assume that no meaning is desired here? David Heaton speaks of Shostakovich s finales as false dawns. You might be meant to hear them as hollow celebrations. Just as the world of 19thcentury Russia cannot be understood without Dostoevsky, the spiritual world of the Russian man in the 20th century cannot be understood without Shostakovich s Tenth Symphony. Paraphrased from composer Yuri Shaporin 14 sydney symphony

13 And, after all, though Stalin was dead, Shostakovich s Tenth Symphony was still subjected to criticism at a Union of Soviet Composers Commission on Musical Criticism. Boris Yarustovsky said that the work was [a] tragedy of the profoundly isolated individual, helpless in the face of the forces of evil Such a conception of the world is very far from that which is experienced by the majority of Soviet people. Shostakovich responded by offering his own self-criticism: the first movement is too long, he said, the second movement too short, the third movement, though more or less successful is too long in some places and too short in others. How could anyone take this to be serious self-criticism? It was Shostakovich at his usual passiveaggressive game. When he said of the first movement that I have still not succeeded in writing the real symphonic Allegro, surely he had to be joking (albeit bitterly). The sober truth is that Shostakovich was an artist placed in an impossible situation. But the music itself supports Arnold Schoenberg s assessment that this great talent was one of the few among his contemporaries who had the breath of a symphonist. GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS SYMPHONY AUSTRALIA 1999 Shostakovich s Tenth Symphony calls for two flutes (one doubling piccolo) and piccolo, three oboes (one doubling cor anglais), three clarinets (one doubling bass clarinet) and three bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon); four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion; and strings. The Sydney Symphony gave the first Australian performance of this symphony in 1956 under Bernard Heinze. The most recent performance was in 2009, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. If you re reading this you can help us... This year we moved our subscriber newsletter, Bravo!, into the program books. Now we re interested in what you think about the new format and how we might make it even better. Complete our short survey and enter the draw to win two premium tickets to Legends by the Sea: Ashkenazy conducts Sibelius on Saturday 9 February 2013 plus one night s accommodation at the Sebel Pier One Sydney Hotel. Keep this program handy and follow the link to the survey at If you don t have access to the internet, you can pick up a printed copy at the customer service desk in the foyer. Accommodation provided courtesy of Gold Partner Sebel Pier One Sydney. sydney symphony 15

14 MORE MUSIC DVOŘÁK Hear Dvořák s Cello Concerto in context with the 3CD set Dvořák in America, recorded with Czech artists and ensembles. In addition to the concerto and the New World Symphony, the set includes the Te Deum, String Quintet and String Quartet No.12 and many delightful miniatures. SUPRAPHON 4025 Or if you re inclined to cello indugence, Truls Mørk is the soloist in a gorgeous pairing of the Dvořák Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky s elegant Rococo Variations. Mariss Jansons conducts the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. VIRGIN CLASSICS SHOSTAKOVICH & ASHKENAZY Vladimir Ashkenazy s performance of Shostakovich s Tenth Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is included in the 12-CD boxed set, Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies, released in It s also available in a single CD release with the Chamber Symphony, Op.110a. DECCA (complete symphonies) DECCA For another take on the symphony, try Bernard Haitink with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It s available in a box set of the complete Shostakovich symphonies with the LPO and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. DECCA Or for a different side of Shostakovich, look for Ashkenazy s performance of the 24 Preludes and Fugues for solo piano, Op.87. DECCA JIAN WANG Among Jian Wang s recent releases is Reverie, a compilation of short and mostly dreamy pieces by composers as diverse as Falla and Elgar or Sibelius and Andrew Lloyd Webber. His accompanist is guitarist Göran Söllscher. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON Broadcast Diary October abc.net.au/classic Thursday 11 October, 8pm beauty and turmoil Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Jian Wang cello Dvořák, Shostakovich Farewell concert before the orchestra departs for China Thursday 25 October, 1.05pm harmony from heaven (2010) Matthew Coorey conductor Diana Doherty oboe Alexandre Oguey cor anglais Beethoven, Lentz, Stravinsky, Sibelius With introductions by Andrew Ford Saturday 27 October, 1pm young guns: ayo (2011) Thomas Dausgaard conductor Dene Olding violin Australian Youth Orchestra Debussy, Vine, Nielsen Fine Music sydney symphony 2012 Tuesday 13 November, 6pm Musicians, staff and guest artists discuss what s in store in our forthcoming concerts. Perhaps the best-known of his recordings is the 2-CD set of the complete suites for unaccompanied cello by JS Bach. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON And to hear Jian Wang in some of the great concerto repertoire for cello, look for his recording of the Haydn concertos with the Gulbenkian Orchestra conducted by Muhai Tang. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON sydney symphony

15 Webcasts Selected Sydney Symphony concerts are webcast live on BigPond and Telstra T-box and made available for later viewing On Demand. Our latest webcast: dancing with the saxophone Visit: bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony Sydney Symphony Live The Sydney Symphony Live label was founded in 2006 and we ve since released more than a dozen recordings featuring the orchestra in live concert performances with our titled conductors and leading guest artists, including the Mahler Odyssey cycle, begun in To purchase, visit sydneysymphony.com/shop Glazunov & Shostakovich Alexander Lazarev conducts a thrilling performance of Shostakovich 9 and Glazunov s Seasons. SSO 2 Strauss & Schubert Gianluigi Gelmetti conducts Schubert s Unfi nished and R Strauss s Four Last Songs with Ricarda Merbeth. SSO Sir Charles Mackerras A 2CD set featuring Sir Charles s fi nal performances with the orchestra, in October SSO Brett Dean Brett Dean performs his own viola concerto, conducted by Simone Young, in this all-dean release. SSO Ravel Gelmetti conducts music by one of his favourite composers: Maurice Ravel. Includes Bolero. SSO Rare Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff chamber music with Dene Olding, the Goldner Quartet, soprano Joan Rodgers and Vladimir Ashkenazy at the piano. SSO MAHLER ODYSSEY ON CD During the 2010 and 2011 concert seasons, the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy set out to perform all the Mahler symphonies, together with some of the song cycles. These concerts were recorded for CD, with nine releases so far and more to come. Mahler 9 OUT NOW In March, Mahler s Ninth, his last completed symphony, was released. SSO ALSO CURRENTLY AVAILABLE Mahler 1 & Songs of a Wayfarer SSO Mahler 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) SSO Mahler 5 SSO Song of the Earth SSO Mahler 3 SSO Mahler 4 SSO Mahler 6 SSO Mahler 7 SSO Sydney Symphony Online Join us on Facebook facebook.com/sydneysymphony Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/sydsymph Watch us on YouTube Visit sydneysymphony.com for concert information, podcasts, and to read the program book in the week of the concert. Stay tuned. Sign up to receive our fortnightly e-newsletter sydneysymphony.com/staytuned Download our free mobile app for iphone or Android sydneysymphony.com/mobile_app sydney symphony 17

16 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Vladimir Ashkenazy PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC ADVISOR In the years since Vladimir Ashkenazy first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw he has built an extraordinary career, not only as one of the most renowned and revered pianists of our times, but as an inspiring artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities. Conducting has formed the largest part of his musicmaking for the past 20 years. He has been Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic ( ), and Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo ( ). This is his fourth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Sydney Symphony. Alongside these roles, Vladimir Ashkenazy is also Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom he has developed landmark projects such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich Under Stalin (a project which he toured and later developed into a TV documentary) and Rachmaninoff Revisited at the Lincoln Center, New York. He also holds the positions of Music Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He maintains strong links with a number of other major orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra (where he was formerly Principal Guest Conductor), San Francisco Symphony, and Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin (Chief Conductor and Music Director, ), as well as making guest appearances with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic. Vladimir Ashkenazy continues to devote himself to the piano, building his comprehensive recording catalogue with releases such as the 1999 Grammy award-winning Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, Rautavaara s Piano Concerto No.3 (which he commissioned), Rachmaninoff transcriptions, Bach s Wohltemperierte Klavier and Beethoven s Diabelli Variations. In 2009 he released a disc of French piano duo works with Vovka Ashkenazy. A regular visitor to Sydney over many years, he has conducted subscription concerts and composer festivals for the Sydney Symphony, with his five-program Rachmaninoff festival forming a highlight of the 75th Anniversary Season in In he conducted the Mahler Odyssey concerts and live recordings, and his artistic role with the orchestra also includes annual international touring. KEITH SAUNDERS 18 sydney symphony

17 Jian Wang CELLO Jian Wang began studying the cello with his father at the age of four, and while at the Shanghai Conservatoire was featured in the 1980 documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. He entered the Yale School of Music in 1985 as a student of Aldo Parisot, and made his professional debut at Carnegie Hall the following year. Since then Jian Wang has performed with many leading ensembles such as the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle, Orchestre de Paris, New Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors including Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Alan Gilbert, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Neeme Järvi, Christoph Eschenbach and Mark Wigglesworth. He also appears regularly as both a soloist and chamber musician at festivals such as Verbier, Aldenburg, Miyazaki and Tanglewood, and in 2008 made his debut at the BBC Proms. Jian Wang has recorded the Brahms Double Concerto with Gil Shaham and the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado, and the Haydn concertos with the Gulbenkian Orchestra under Muhai Tang. His chamber recordings include the complete Bach cello suites, Messiaen s Quartet for the End of Time and an album of cello and guitar works. His live recording of the Elgar concerto with the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy was released in Last season, Jian Wang s concert engagements included performances in Los Angeles, Brussels, Taipei and Singapore, and in China he has played for the President and opened the season for the China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony and Macau Symphony orchestras. Jian Wang s most recent appearance with the Sydney Symphony was in 2010 when he performed the Lalo Cello Concerto. He will join the orchestra on this month s tour to China, performing the Dvořák concerto, and next year will tour Australia for Musica Viva with pianist Bernadette Harvey. Jian Wang s instrument is graciously loaned to him by the family of the late Sau-Wing Lam. sydney symphony 19

18 MUSICIANS Vladimir Ashkenazy Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates Dene Olding Concertmaster Jessica Cottis Assistant Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse FIRST VIOLINS Dene Olding Concertmaster Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster Vesa Leppanen* Concertmaster Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster Sophie Rowell* Assistant Concertmaster Jennifer Booth Marianne Broadfoot Brielle Clapson Sophie Cole Jennifer Hoy Nicola Lewis Alexander Norton Léone Ziegler Claire Herrick Elizabeth Jones Lucy Warren Fiona Ziegler Assistant Concertmaster Julie Batty Amber Davis Emily Qin Emma West Assistant Principal Emma Hayes Biyana Rozenblit Maja Verunica VIOLAS Roger Benedict Tobias Breider Anne-Louise Comerford Robyn Brookfield Sandro Costantino Jane Hazelwood Graham Hennings Stuart Johnson Leonid Volovelsky Rosemary Curtin* Tara Houghton* Neil Thompson Justin Williams Assistant Principal Justine Marsden Felicity Tsai DOUBLE BASSES Kees Boersma Alex Henery Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus David Campbell Steven Larson Richard Lynn David Murray Benjamin Ward FLUTES Janet Webb Emma Sholl Rosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo Carolyn Harris OBOES Diana Doherty Shefali Pryor Alexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais David Papp HORNS Ben Jacks Geoffrey O Reilly Principal 3rd Marnie Sebire Euan Harvey Rachel Shaw Robert Johnson TRUMPETS David Elton Paul Goodchild Anthony Heinrichs John Foster TROMBONES Ronald Prussing Nick Byrne Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone Scott Kinmont TUBA Steve Rossé SECOND VIOLINS Kirsty Hilton Marina Marsden Alexander Read Emily Long A/Assistant Principal Susan Dobbie Principal Emeritus Maria Durek Shuti Huang Stan W Kornel Benjamin Li Nicole Masters Philippa Paige Alexandra D Elia Belinda Jezek* CELLOS Catherine Hewgill Leah Lynn Assistant Principal Fenella Gill Timothy Nankervis Christopher Pidcock David Wickham Eleanor Betts Teije Hylkema* Rowena Macneish Rachael Tobin Kristy Conrau Elizabeth Neville Adrian Wallis CLARINETS Lawrence Dobell Francesco Celata Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet Christopher Tingay BASSOONS Matthew Wilkie Nicole Tait Noriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon Fiona McNamara TIMPANI Richard Miller PERCUSSION Rebecca Lagos Colin Piper Mark Robinson HARP Louise Johnson Bold = Principal Italics = Associate Principal * = Guest Musician = Contract Musician = Sydney Symphony Fellow Grey = Permanent member of the Sydney Symphony not appearing in this concert To see photographs of the full roster of permanent musicians and find out more about the orchestra, visit our website: If you don t have access to the internet, ask one of our customer service representatives for a copy of our Musicians flyer. The men of the Sydney Symphony are proudly outfitted by Van Heusen. 20 sydney symphony

19 SYDNEY SYMPHONY Vladimir Ashkenazy, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor PATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO JOHN MARMARAS Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world s great cities. Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, where it gives more than 100 performances each year, the Sydney Symphony also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence, most recently in the 2011 tour of Japan and Korea. The Sydney Symphony s first Chief Conductor was Sir Eugene Goossens, appointed in 1947; he was followed by Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zdeněk Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. David Robertson will take up the post of Chief Conductor in The orchestra s history also boasts collaborations with legendary figures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky. The Sydney Symphony s award-winning education program is central to its commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The orchestra promotes the work of Australian composers through performances, recordings and its commissioning program. Recent premieres have included major works by Ross Edwards, Liza Lim, Lee Bracegirdle, Gordon Kerry and Georges Lentz, and the orchestra s recording of works by Brett Dean was released on both the BIS and Sydney Symphony Live labels. Other releases on the Sydney Symphony Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras and Vladimir Ashkenazy. The orchestra has recently completed recording the Mahler symphonies, and has also released recordings with Ashkenazy of Rachmaninoff and Elgar orchestral works on the Exton/Triton labels, as well as numerous recordings on the ABC Classics label. This is the fourth year of Ashkenazy s tenure as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor. sydney symphony 21

20 BEHIND THE SCENES Sydney Symphony Board John C Conde ao Chairman Terrey Arcus am Ewen Crouch Ross Grant Jennifer Hoy Rory Jeffes Andrew Kaldor Irene Lee David Livingstone Goetz Richter Sydney Symphony Council Geoff Ainsworth am Andrew Andersons ao Michael Baume ao Christine Bishop Ita Buttrose ao obe Peter Cudlipp John Curtis am Greg Daniel am John Della Bosca Alan Fang Erin Flaherty Dr Stephen Freiberg Donald Hazelwood ao obe Dr Michael Joel am Simon Johnson Yvonne Kenny am Gary Linnane Amanda Love Helen Lynch am David Maloney David Malouf ao Julie Manfredi-Hughes Deborah Marr The Hon. Justice Jane Mathews ao Danny May Wendy McCarthy ao Jane Morschel Greg Paramor Dr Timothy Pascoe am Prof. Ron Penny ao Jerome Rowley Paul Salteri Sandra Salteri Juliana Schaeffer Leo Schofield am Fred Stein oam Gabrielle Trainor Ivan Ungar John van Ogtrop Peter Weiss am Mary Whelan Rosemary White Sydney Symphony Staff MANAGING DIRECTOR Rory Jeffes EXECUTIVE TEAM ASSISTANT Lisa Davies-Galli ARTISTIC OPERATIONS DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING Peter Czornyj Artistic Administration ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Elaine Armstrong ARTIST LIAISON MANAGER Ilmar Leetberg RECORDING ENTERPRISE MANAGER Philip Powers Education Programs HEAD OF EDUCATION Kim Waldock EMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM MANAGER Mark Lawrenson EDUCATION COORDINATOR Rachel McLarin Library LIBRARIAN Anna Cernik LIBRARY ASSISTANT Victoria Grant LIBRARY ASSISTANT Mary-Ann Mead ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Aernout Kerbert ORCHESTRA MANAGER Chris Lewis ORCHESTRA COORDINATOR Georgia Stamatopoulos OPERATIONS MANAGER Kerry-Anne Cook TECHNICAL MANAGER Derek Coutts PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Tim Dayman PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Ian Spence STAGE MANAGER Peter Gahan SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Mark J Elliott MARKETING MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION SALES Simon Crossley-Meates A/SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER, SALES Matthew Rive MARKETING MANAGER, BUSINESS RESOURCES Katrina Riddle ONLINE MARKETING MANAGER Eve Le Gall MARKETING & ONLINE COORDINATOR Kaisa Heino GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lucy McCullough DATA ANALYST Varsha Karnik MARKETING ASSISTANT Jonathon Symonds Box Office MANAGER OF BOX OFFICE SALES & OPERATIONS Lynn McLaughlin MANAGER OF BOX OFFICE OPERATIONS Tom Downey CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Steve Clarke Senior CSR Michael Dowling Derek Reed John Robertson Bec Sheedy COMMUNICATIONS HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS & SPONSOR RELATIONS Yvonne Zammit PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER Katherine Stevenson COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Janine Harris DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER Ben Draisma Publications PUBLICATIONS EDITOR & MUSIC PRESENTATION MANAGER Yvonne Frindle DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Caroline Sharpen EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER Stephen Attfield PHILANTHROPY, PATRONS PROGRAM Ivana Jirasek DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Amelia Morgan-Hunn BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE John Horn FINANCE MANAGER Ruth Tolentino ACCOUNTANT Minerva Prescott ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT Emma Ferrer PAYROLL OFFICER Laura Soutter HUMAN RESOURCES HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES Michel Hryce 22 sydney symphony

21 SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRONS Maestro s Circle Peter Weiss am Founding President & Doris Weiss John C Conde ao Chairman Geoff Ainsworth am & Vicki Ainsworth Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn In memory of Hetty & Egon Gordon Andrew Kaldor & Renata Kaldor ao Roslyn Packer ao Penelope Seidler am Mr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy Street Westfield Group Brian & Rosemary White Ray Wilson oam in memory of the late James Agapitos oam Sydney Symphony Leadership Ensemble David Livingstone, CEO, Credit Suisse, Australia Alan Fang, Chairman, Tianda Group Tony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner Pretty Insurance Australia Grou p Macquarie Group Foundation John Morschel, Chairman, ANZ Directors Chairs Andrew Kaldor, Chairman, Pelikan Artline Lynn Kraus, Sydney Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young Shell Australia Pty Ltd James Stevens, CEO, Roses Only Stephen Johns, Chairman, Leighton Holdings, and Michele Johns Roger Benedict Principal Viola Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey Chair 02 Lawrence Dobell Principal Clarinet Anne Arcus & Terrey Arcus am Chair 03 Diana Doherty Principal Oboe Andrew Kaldor & Renata Kaldor ao Chair 04 Richard Gill oam Artistic Director Education Sandra & Paul Salteri Chair 05 Catherine Hewgill Principal Cello The Hon. Justice AJ & Mrs Fran Meagher Chair 06 Robert Johnson Principal Horn James & Leonie Furber Chair 07 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair 08 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair 09 Emma Sholl Associate Principal Flute Robert & Janet Constable Chair For information about the Directors Chairs program, please call (02) Sydney Symphony Vanguard Vanguard Collective Justin Di Lollo Chair Kees Boersma Rose Herceg David McKean Amelia Morgan-Hunn Jonathan Pease Members Matti Alakargas Nikki Andrews James Armstrong Stephen Attfield Andrew Baxter Mar Beltran Kees Boersma Peter Braithwaite Andrea Brown Ian Burton Jennifer Burton Hahn Chau Ron Christianson Matthew Clark Benoît Cocheteux George Condous Michael Cook Paul Cousins Justin Di Lollo Rose Gallo Sam Giddings Derek Hand Rose Herceg Jennifer Hoy Damian Kassagbi Chris Keher Elizabeth Lee Antony Lighten Gary Linnane David McKean Hayden McLean Amelia Morgan-Hunn Hugh Munro Fiona Osler Peter Outridge Archie Paffas Jonathan Pease Seamus R Quick Michael Reede Jacqueline Rowlands Bernard Ryan Adam Wand Jon Wilkie Jonathan Watkinson Darren Woolley Misha Zelinsky sydney symphony 23

22 PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the orchestra each year. Each gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs. Donations of $50 and above are acknowledged on our website at Platinum Patrons $20,000+ Brian Abel Geoff Ainsworth am & Vicki Ainsworth Robert Albert ao & Elizabeth Albert Terrey Arcus am & Anne Arcus Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn Sandra & Neil Burns Mr John C Conde ao Robert & Janet Constable Michael Crouch ao & Shanny Crouch James & Leonie Furber Dr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuffre In memory of Hetty & Egon Gordon Ms Rose Herceg Mr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs Renata Kaldor ao D & I Kallinikos James N Kirby Foundation Mrs Joan MacKenzie Justice Jane Mathews ao Mrs Roslyn Packer ao Dr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June Roarty Paul & Sandra Salteri Mrs Penelope Seidler am Mrs W Stening Mr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy Street Mr Peter Weiss am & Mrs Doris Weiss Westfield Group Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary White Ray Wilson oam in memory of James Agapitos oam Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey June & Alan Woods Family Bequest Gold Patrons $10,000 $19,999 Mr C R Adamson Stephen J Bell Alan & Christine Bishop Ian & Jennifer Burton Copyright Agency Limited The Hon. Ashley Dawson-Damer Edward Federman Ferris Family Foundation Nora Goodridge Mr Ross Grant The Estate of the late Ida Gugger Helen Lynch am & Helen Bauer Ruth & Bob Magid The Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran Meagher Mrs T Merewether oam Mr B G O Conor Mrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet Cooke Henry & Ruth Weinberg Anonymous (2) Silver Patrons $5000 $9,999 Doug & Alison Battersby Mr Alexander & Mrs Vera Boyarsky Mr Robert Brakspear Mr David & Mrs Halina Brett Mr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Bob & Julie Clampett Howard Connors Ewen & Catherine Crouch Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway Colin Draper & Mary Jane Brodribb Penny Edwards The Greatorex Foundation Mrs Jennifer Hershon The Sherry Hogan Foundation Mr Rory Jeffes Stephen Johns & Michele Bender Judges of the Supreme Court of NSW Mr Ervin Katz The Estate of the late Patricia Lance Mr David Livingstone Timothy & Eva Pascoe William McIlrath Charitable Foundation David Maloney & Erin Flaherty Rodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia Rosenblum Manfred & Linda Salamon JF & A van Ogtrop Michael & Mary Whelan Trust Ms Caroline Wilkinson Jill Wran Anonymous (2) Bronze Patrons $2,500 $4,999 Mr Marc Besen ao & Mrs Eva Besen ao Jan Bowen M Bulmer Firehold Pty Ltd Stephen Freiberg & Donald Campbell Anthony Gregg & Deanne Whittleston Vic & Katie French Warren Green Mrs Jennifer Hershon Ann Hoban In memory of Bernard M H Khaw Gary Linnane Matthew McInnes J A McKernan R & S Maple-Brown Greg & Susan Marie Alan & Joy Martin Mora Maxwell James & Elsie Moore Drs Keith & Eileen Ong In memory of H St P Scarlett David & Isabel Smithers Mrs Hedy Switzer Marliese & Georges Teitler Dr Richard Wingate Mr & Mrs T & D Yim Anonymous (2) Bronze Patrons $1,000 $2,499 Charles & Renee Abrams Mrs Antoinette Albert Andrew Andersons ao Mr Henri W Aram oam Dr Francis J Augustus Richard and Christine Banks David Barnes Michael Baume ao & Toni Baume Nicole Berger Mrs Jan Biber Allan & Julie Bligh Lenore P Buckle In memory of RW Burley Eric & Rosemary Campbell The Hon. Justice JC & Mrs Campbell Dr John H Casey Joan Connery oam & Maxwell Connery oam Constable Estate Vineyards Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill Mr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret Cunningham Greta Davis Lisa & Miro Davis Matthew Delasey Mr & Mrs Grant Dixon John Favaloro Mr Ian Fenwicke & Prof. Neville Wills Michael & Gabrielle Field Dr & Mrs C Goldschmidt Mr James Graham am & Mrs Helen Graham Akiko Gregory Edward & Deborah Griffith Janette Hamilton Dorothy Hoddinott ao The Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret Hunt Dr & Mrs Michael Hunter Mr Peter Hutchison Michael & Anna Joel Anna-Lisa Klettenberg Mr Justin Lam Mr Peter Lazar am Associate Professor Winston Liauw Sydney & Airdrie Lloyd Carolyn & Peter Lowry oam Deirdre & Kevin McCann Robert McDougall Ian & Pam McGaw 24 sydney symphony

23 Macquarie Group Foundation Renee Markovic A Nhan Ms Jackie O Brien Mr R A Oppen Mr Robert Orrell Mr & Mrs Ortis Mr Andrew C Patterson In memory of Sandra Paul Piatti Holdings Pty Ltd Andy & Deirdre Plummer Robin Potter Pottinger Ernest & Judith Rapee Kenneth R Reed Patricia H Reid Endowment Pty Ltd Caroline Sharpen Dr Agnes E Sinclair Catherine Stephen John & Alix Sullivan The Hon. Brian Sully qc Mildred Teitler John E Tuckey Mrs M Turkington In memory of Joan & Rupert Vallentine Dr Alla Waldman In memory of Dr Reg Walker The Hon. Justice A G Whealy Ann & Brooks Wilson am Geoff Wood & Melissa Waites Mr Robert & Mrs Rosemary Walsh Mr R R Woodward In memory of Lorna Wright Dr John Yu Anonymous (14) Bronze Patrons $500 $999 Mr Peter J Armstrong Mr & Mrs Garry S Ash Barlow Cleaning Pty Ltd Mrs Margaret Bell Minnie Biggs Pat & Jenny Burnett Mr & Mrs Coates Dr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff Arnaldo Buch The Hon. Justice JC & Mrs Campbell Dr Rebecca Chin Mrs Sarah Chissick Mrs Catherine J Clark R A & M J Clarke Mrs Joan Connery oam Jen Cornish Mr David Cross Phil Diment am & Bill Zafiropoulos Elizabeth Donati The Dowe Family Dr Nita & Dr James Durham Malcolm Ellis & Erin O Neill Mrs Margaret Epps In memory of Peter Everett Mr & Mrs Farrell Mr Tom Francis Tony Grierson Vivienne Goldschmidt Mr Richard Griffin am Ian R L Harper Ken Hawkings Mrs A Hayward Mr Roger Henning Harry & Meg Herbert Mr Joerg Hofmann Mrs Kimberley Holden Mr Gregory Hosking Alex Houghton Bill & Pam Hughes Beauty Point Retirement Resort Niki Kallenberger Mrs W G Keighley Mrs Margaret Keogh Dr Henry Kilham Chris J Kitching Mr Aron & Mrs Helen Kleinlehrer Mr & Mrs Gilles T Kryger Sonia Lal Mr Luigi Lamprati Dr & Mrs Leo Leader Margaret Lederman Irene Lee Anita & Chris Levy Erna & Gerry Levy am Mrs A Lohan Mrs Panee Low Dr David Luis Dr Jean Malcolm Philip & Catherine McClelland Mrs Flora MacDonald Mrs Helen Meddings Mrs Toshiko Meric P J Miller David & Andree Milman Kenneth N Mitchell Chris Morgan-Hunn Mrs Milja Morris Coffs Airport Security Car Park Dr Mike O Connor am Mr Graham North Dr A J Palmer Justice George Palmer am Dr Kevin Pedemont Dr Natalie E Pelham Lois & Ken Rae Renaissance Tours Anna Ro Pamela Rogers Lesley & Andrew Rosenberg Agnes Ross Mrs Pamela Sayers Garry Scarf & Morgie Blaxill William Sewell Mrs Diane Shteinman am Ms Stephanie Smee Ms Tatiana Sokolova Doug & Judy Sotheren Mrs Judith Southam Margaret Suthers Mr Lindsay & Mrs Suzanne Stone Norman & Lydia Taylor Dr Heng Tey & Mrs Cilla Tey Mrs Alma Toohey & Mr Edward Spicer Kevin Troy Judge Robyn Tupman Gillian Turner & Rob Bishop Prof Gordon E Wall Mrs Margaret Wallis Ronald Walledge Mr Palmer Wang Ms Elizabeth Wilkinson Audrey & Michael Wilson A Willmers & R Pal Dr Richard Wing Dr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K Wong Mr Robert Woods Mrs Everly Wyss Mrs Robin Yabsley Anonymous (15) To find out more about becoming a Sydney Symphony Patron, please contact the Philanthropy Office on (02) or philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com sydney symphony 25

24 SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW PREMIER PARTNER COMMUNITY PARTNER PLATINUM PARTNERS EDUCATION PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS executive search REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS MARKETING PARTNER Fine Music sydney symphony

25 ORCHESTRA NEWS SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2012 Photo: Steven Godbee MARRIED TO MUSIC Principal Double Bass Kees Boersma pinpoints some defining moments in his musical journey. How did the youngest son of eight children raised in rural South Australia come to be the Principal Double Bass of the Sydney Symphony? As Kees (rhymes with bass ) Boersma jokes, all the trades were taken care of, so I was given pretty free rein in what I wanted to do! Music was his preferred holiday activity, and involvement with youth music organisations eventually led him to the Australian Youth Orchestra. Playing Mahler Six at the Perth Festival was a key moment. You can have one experience like that that completely blows your mind, and makes you want to take the jump. For Kees, the spark had ignited. After studies, Kees made his way to Holland, the country of his ancestors, and played in the Concertgebouw Orchestra for a number of seasons. But military service loomed. They did grant me a year s grace, he says, but my efforts to convince the authorities that my Dutch wasn t good enough to follow orders eventually failed even though I used my thickest Australian accent! Returning to Australia and accepting a short-term contract with Orchestra Victoria, a restless Kees considered a return to an earlier television career. We re connecting the musical dots for people But then Lawrence [Dobell, Principal Clarinet of the Sydney Symphony] rang to say there was a job coming up, and I had to audition. Twenty-two years later, Kees is breaking new ground for Sydney Symphony Vanguard, a membership program that takes classical music and fuses it with other genres, all in an intimate setting. It s an informal and engaging, restless and sometimes irreverent approach to music making. Vanguard seeks to find another subset of our audience, Kees explains. We re connecting the musical dots for people. If someone s interested, then they can find new ways to engage. On the home front, there s more music in the family his gorgeous wife Kirsty McCahon is also a bass player. I get my most severe criticism from her, and also the most genuine compliments. She understands the lifestyle and the life. If there s a big concert coming up for either of us, we have an innate understanding about when not to push the buttons. There are drawbacks though. I bought a beautiful Italian instrument some years ago, which she decided would be perfect for her, and now I don t get to touch it! *Sigh* sydneysymphony.com/vanguard

26 Photo: Genevieve Lang Philanthropy Highlight Life s gift Event News Photo: Paul Wilcock Madama Butterfly and Un bel di. Not a bad introduction to classical music. The young Ray Wilson s connection with music was forged at the free summertime concerts my family were quite poor at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Later came a move to Sydney to work at a pretty rough printing company. I had a little transistor radio tuned to the ABC on my desk, and I would just listen, listen, listen. Here Ray met and worked for the late James Agapitos, the man who soon became his partner in business and in life. These days, the two men s names are proudly visible in the world of philanthropy. Ray has chosen to make a notified bequest to our orchestra. The bequests I m making are in both our names. It s a way of honouring James, and honouring our relationship. We spent 40 very happy years together. We owe it to say thank you to the institutions that have been part of our lives. It s all about saying to the institution I really enjoy our involvement and I want to say thank you for having given me pleasure and for improving the quality of my life. It s a two-way street. If you re considering making a notified bequest to the Sydney Symphony, contact our Philanthropy team: philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com or call (02) Stephen Johns, Chairman of Leighton Holdings, welcomes the audience to the annual special Leighton Holdings Discovery concert. On the program? Discovering Mozart with the inspirational guidance of Richard Gill (right) and the Sydney Sinfonia. Your Say I would like to say how much I am enjoying having Bravo! included in the concert programs and also to say how much I always enjoy the program notes. They are consistently interesting and certainly add to the listening enjoyment. Marianne Cochrane I remember (misty-eyed) each wonderful performance of the Sibelius cycle in 2004, and hearing Mr Ashkenazy s words of praise for the orchestra at the final concert. To reprise the Fifth Symphony, and introduce new ones [in 2013], is for me, a fitting way to celebrate and conclude Mr Ashkenazy s tenure Thank you too for the nod to Britten in the centenary of his death. Shirley Pearson I attended the concert last Friday night [Wagner Under the Sails] what a magnificent performance! I don t believe this is a word that is usually used in relation to Wagner, but the SSO sounded absolutely ravishing in the orchestral items. Simone Young did a fantastic job, inspiring the orchestra to make this 80th anniversary concert something really special. Then we come to the soloist. Christine Brewer was just brilliant. A stunning voice and I hope she will be coming back to perform with the orchestra in the future. Jerome Prince-Foster We like to hear from you. Write to yoursay@sydneysymphony.com or Bravo! Reply Paid 4338, Sydney NSW 2001 Proud sponsor of the Sydney Symphony in their 80th year of timeless entertainment

27 Photo: Kenneth Dundas Artistic Focus BAPTISM OF FIRE From inspiring audiences of tomorrow to the demands of being a conductor-understudy the role of Assistant Conductor is a big commitment. Conducting eight concerts for almost 7,000 school children and their teachers is one heck of a way to begin your tenure as an assistant conductor, but Australian-British conductor Jessica Cottis didn t bat an eyelid. From the whirling of Tchaikovsky s Waltz of the Flowers to the surging motion of Paul Stanhope s Groundswell, she captured the attention of the musicians and her young audience. Jessica s appointment was announced in July, just as she began her first stint with the orchestra. They were three utterly brilliant weeks, she says. During that time, she assisted conductors Simone Young and Jakub Hr uša (who was filling in at short notice for Tugan Sokhiev), as well as conducting education concerts at City Recital Hall Angel Place and Sydney Olympic Park. Shortly after completing a two-year appointment as Assistant Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jessica received an completely out of the blue from our Director of Artistic Planning, Peter Czornyj, asking if she d be interested in auditioning for the Assistant Conductor position in Sydney. I was busy working on a new opera in Glasgow, so I had to make the return journey [to audition] in the space of three days not to be recommended! But I m pleased to be able to say that it must have gone well, because here I am now! Peter Czornyj agrees. Jessica really impressed us with her thorough preparation and clear technique, demonstrating a range of gestures and inspirational authority. Jessica will accompany the orchestra on the upcoming tour to China, assisting Vladimir Ashkenazy and being ready to stand in at a moment s notice. Next year she will spend four months with the orchestra. Some of the conductors I ll assist will have done the pieces over 50 times. They have a huge amount of experience, and as an emerging conductor there s so much I can learn from them. Each week I work as assistant I need to learn the music as though I were conducting the rehearsals and concert myself in case I have to go on and sub for them. It s a big commitment. In 2013 Jessica Cottis will conduct concerts in the Mozart in the City and Tea & Symphony series. The Score Spanish Guitars Spanish rhythms are so compellingly infectious, aren t they? Whether it s the flowing festival dance of the sevillanas, or the macho zapateado dance step of the flamenco, these traditional sounds get your toes tapping, and conjure images of toreadors and Andalusian plains. The gypsy dances of Manuel de Falla s Love, the Magician were originally conceived in 1915 as a ballet for which Falla created original melodies that sounded like Spanish folk tunes. This popular work has been transcribed many times since. For instance, the swirling, mesmerising Ritual Fire Dance was a favourite encore of pianist Arthur Rubinstein ( I had to repeat it three times! ). In November, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet bring their own arrangement for four guitars and orchestra. Joaquín Rodrigo s Concierto andaluz an original work for four guitars and orchestra was commissioned by Celedonio Romero, who premiered the piece with his three sons. The second son, Pepe, later taught all four founding members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (and when one left the group he was replaced by the student of another member!). So each member of the LA Guitar Quartet has in some way inherited the spirit of Rodrigo. Thursday Afternoon Symphony Thu 15 Nov 1.30pm Kaleidoscope Fri 16, Sat 18 Nov 8pm